City council and mayoral hopefuls throughout the Wood River Valley can officially begin campaigning for public office on Monday, Aug. 24, the first day for filing for candidacy. The filing period will extend through Friday, Sept. 4, at 5 p.m.
Elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.
To get on the ballot, a declaration of candidacy must be filed, accompanied by either a $40 fee or a petition of candidacy signed by five registered voters from the respective city. The signatures need to be verified by the Blaine County clerk.
No one can get on the ballot after the September deadline, although there will still be a last opportunity for write-in candidates.
Sun Valley will see a contest for two seats on its city council, with only incumbent Nils Ribi seeking to keep his seat. Councilman Dave Chase said earlier this year that he will not seek a second two-year term. Council President Ribi said last week that he will run again, but has not started campaigning. No challengers have yet come forth.
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In Ketchum, the seats of Mayor Randy Hall, Council President Baird Gourlay and Councilman Charles Conn are up for election. While Hall and Gourlay have expressed interest in retaining their seats, Conn, who was appointed to former Councilman Ron Parsons' seat last August, said he will not seek re-election. Phyllis Shafran, mother of former Councilman Steve Shafran, has expressed interest in running for mayor. Former Mayor Ed Simon has said he is contemplating running for City Council.
In Hailey, incumbents Don Keirn and Martha Burke have said they will both run to keep their seats on the City Council.
Three of the five seats on the Bellevue City Council—those of Larry Plott, Gene Ramsey and Brett Gelsky—will be up for election. None of the three have indicated whether they will run.
No challengers have yet expressed interest in running for any of the open seats in Hailey or Bellevue.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
